APH Welcome Home
by StormWolf91
Summary: Prussia finally sees Germany again after decades of separation.


APH- Welcome Home

I ran through Berlin, searching for my brother.

All around me, people were laughing, crying, cheering, and embracing each other. In my 900 years of life, I have never seen such happiness in one place. Now I'm fortunate enough to know how it feels.

But it cost me 12 years of genocide and oppression, nearly 30 years of imprisonment; and 42 years after the destruction of my home.

I'll be honest with you, I'm no saint. I will never forgive Ivan for what he has done to me. I wasn't the only one, though. Liz, Feliks, Eduard, Raivis, Toris, and even his own sisters weren't spared the abuse. There are no excuses for what he's done to people- none whatsoever.

Earlier, it was as if my heart was chopped in half, with the severed piece put in a jar somewhere. I knew exactly where it was, but I could not reach it. And I was not allowed to find it because it was on the other side of that damned wall, also known as Europe's prison. Instead of blood, I felt pure fury and wrath raging through my veins when I confronted Ivan and expressed my true feelings about him with my fists and his own faucet pipe.

…But not now. You see, my heart is beating stronger than ever before. It was the feeling of becoming whole again. The fading heartache is what is drawing me to my little brother. West. Ludwig. Germany.

I looked back at the huge hole in the wall, in the direction of Kaliningrad, NO- _Konigsberg_. How ironic that my old heart was my prison for 42 years. Double the irony when my captor had no heart whatsoever.

I recalled the look on Ivan's face after I gave him the well-overdue suggestion to rot in hell, and the words that came after:

_"You will too, one day, Kaliningrad. The only reason you're not dead yet is because you're a stubborn bastard that just won't go away."_

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth as his insult echoed through my mind. However, I felt my lips peeling back into a vindicated grin as I remembered my own response.

_"Never call me that again, you red pig! I'm Prussia! And that name will stay! I'm not Kaliningrad, I'm not East Germany, and I'm not the German Democratic Republic! There was nothing "democratic" about my land, anyway- you made sure of that! …But no more"_

I am sorry that I failed you, my beloved Konigsberg. But I swear that I will never allow such a thing to happen to the rest of my homeland again.

I started running again; my brain could barely register my feet hitting the ground. Without even thinking, I vaulted over a staircase rail instead of wasting my time shuffling down a few steps.

I assumed that Feliks must have gone back to help his own people, but I saw Roderich and Elizaveta sitting on a bench, holding hands as they watched everyone. Liz stood up and ran over, smiling. "Gilbert!" she threw her arms around me. I was a little startled, but I still returned the embrace.

Then I noticed that Roderich awkwardly put his hand on my shoulder. "It's been a long time, kleine Bruder", he spoke.

I blinked in surprise at my old rival. Before I could respond, Roderich provided an explanation for his greeting, "You were always a brother to me, Gilbert, albeit an unruly one".

I smirked in order to keep my awesome reputation. "…I'm flattered, old man". The Austrian raised an eyebrow. "Old? You're not so far behind- coming into existence a little over 200 years afterwards", he pointed out.

I rose to my full height and spread my arms out, gesturing at the reunited city. "Yeah? But look at how much I went through, and I still came out of it in one piece."

"We both know that you're too stubborn to go down even after all that's happened, Gilbert", Liz pointed out.

I bent down and kissed Elizaveta's right hand. "_mein liebes Mädchen_, I should thank you for that. If it weren't for you opening the border, I don't think we would be standing here right now. A bunch of people rushing up toward the closed wall could have been contained, but hundreds running through open doors? Not a chance. It was you that set the dominos in motion, Liz, not me".

I looked at Roderich and spoke in a brisk tone, "So it's safe to assume that Liz cemented her awesome status?"

Although they could tell that I was being light-hearted, I meant those words. With determination, bravery and resilience as her best qualities, Liz is one of the strongest women I know. She always was, for centuries and counting.

"…Did you see Ludwig yet?" Liz ventured. "No, I found you two first", I replied.

"For God's sake, Gilbert! You both had to wait for decades to see each other again, and you're here just to chat?" Liz exclaimed, shoving me in annoyance. "Argh! OK, OK! I can see the sweet reunion moment is over!" I yelped, running down a narrow side street before she could backhand me again. At least she didn't have the frying pan with her.

Roderich looked thoughtful as Elizaveta returned to sit with him. "I suppose he's still a bit shocked that the wall has finally fallen. He's trying to take everything in. Just give him some time and he should be all right", the Austrian mused. "You could say the same for us as well", Elizaveta responded, leaning against Roderich's side and taking his hand in hers.

I looked around the new street I was on, and I finally laid eyes on my brother again.

West had his back turned, but I don't think he changed too much while I was gone. He still had the same slicked back blonde hair and the same stiff-legged posture. He didn't hear me walk closer, so he didn't look back yet. My hands were drawn and pale, nearly stark white. It was not due to my albinism, but nervousness.

I grinned in spite of myself, quietly approaching my brother and tapping him on the shoulder. "I've been looking for you, West", I spoke conversationally when he turned around.

He said nothing at first, but surprise and relief was written all over his face before he quickly pulled me into a strong hug.

_"Bitte verlass mich nicht wieder, vermisste ich dich so sehr…"_ he murmured against my shoulder. I could feel him twitch slightly. "I'm sorry, Gilbert. I'm so sorry…"

I don't think I have ever seen my brother so distressed- aside from the 1930s and '40s at least. Even as a child, it was like he refused to cry, no matter how bad things got. But here he was, a grown man, with his voice shaking as he held me. Of course, I don't blame him. I felt the same way inside.

I placed my hands on both sides of his face, and moved it so he could look straight in my eyes. "Listen to me, Ludwig. It saddens me to see you this way, so I don't want you beating yourself up about what happened to me. You're far more awesome than that. You and I both know that the past is done. I wish it was possible, but we can't go back and change it. We must go forward. The important thing is that it is over", I told him.

"I know, Gilbert. …But that doesn't mean I miss you any less. Don't go again- please", Ludwig's tone was pleading.

"No one will have the nerve to separate us again. Our people will never allow it, and neither will we. It's all right; I'm here now", I assured, hugging him back.

It's been 22 years since that day.

…Speaking of which, I have to go. My brother is asking me to get ready, since we're going to celebrate the anniversary. Not in West Berlin or East Berlin- Berlin.

THE END

After I released the linguistic fire-storm known as "Revenge" .net/s/6726763/1/Revenge

I wanted to write something inspiring for Reunification Day. I posted this on DA, but I forgot to post it here on 10/3, sorry.

Yes, I know that the wall was actually torn down on November 9th, so that's obviously the date in my story (and in the Hetalia-verse). But as you can see, Prussia (Gilbert) is recalling these memories on October 3rd. I could have done better with the ending (last 2 or 3 sentences) though.

In "Revenge", Prussia (Gilbert) is harsh and fearsome. In this new story, however, his rage is replaced by sincerity, relief, and determination to see his brother Germany (Ludwig) again after all these years. :)

As for how I came to write this story- my aunt is currently on a tri-city trip (Berlin/Frankfurt/ Munich) with her friend (who is actually from Germany).

We were talking about it before she left, and I asked, "Will you still be in Berlin on October 3rd?"  
>My Aunt- "I'm actually going to be in Frankfurt by then".<br>Me- "It'll be Reunification Day on the 3rd, so I hope you can celebrate it wherever you go."  
>My Aunt- "They'll be celebrating in Berlin, that's for sure".<br>Me- "I know, but I think the rest of the country will be doing so with just as much enthusiasm."

…The day after we talked, I started writing :D

Translations-

kleine Bruder = Little brother  
>mein liebes Mädchen = My dear girl<br>Bitte verlass mich nicht wieder, vermisste ich dich so sehr.= Please don't leave me again, I missed you so much.

Character Key:

Gilbert= Prussia  
>Ludwig= Germany or "West" as Prussia calls him<br>Ivan= Russia  
>Elizaveta or "Liz"= Hungary<br>Roderich= Austria  
>Feliks= Poland<br>Eduard, Raivis & Toris= Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania

Axis Powers Hetalia and its characters © Hidekaz Himaruya  
>Story © ME<p> 


End file.
